To Weight or Not to Weight… That is the Question! Which is nobler? Leanne asked about weighting rigorous courses.
What about Honors classes? I see you didn’t “weight” the grade for Honors English. Don’t the public schools do this? If I wanted to would I make it a 1.5 credit course, or a 5.0 for the grade? We used James Stobaugh for American Lit and it was very rigorous, plus Evan is taking Brit Lit with a teacher this year who is even more demanding (really a college level I think).
Thanks.
Leanne
Dear Leanne,
That’s right, I decided not to weight them – mostly because it was difficult. I also found out that colleges will “re-weight” them to fit their own purposes. If they want academic classes weighted, they will weight them for themselves. If they don’t like weighted classes, they will “un-weight” them by themselves. When I found that out, I figured it was a big “why bother” for me.
Although I did not weight classes, I do have some blog posts that might help: How Much Does an AP Class Weigh? How Do You Assess a Homeschool High School Honors Credit? Give 110% to the College of your Choice!
After doing a ton of research, I found that weighting classes made my life more complicated, but it didn’t improve our chances of scholarship and admission. I did indicate classes which were “honors” classes, I just didn’t give them a higher grading scale. Colleges tend to focus more on test scores for scholarships. If possible, have him take an AP or CLEP exam in those honors areas – that will have more of an impact (in my opinion.) Good idea to check with colleges, and do what your first choice college prefers. Remember, your transcript isn’t “done” until you turn it in during senior year, so you have plenty of time you change your mind!
Readers, I would love to get your opinion on weighting honors classes. What will you decide to do?
Homeschooling is NOT the same as doing schoolwork at home. There is LOTS of freedom! My Gold Care Club will give you all the help you need to succeed!
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Byron Brown says:
I agree with anyone who would decide of not to weigh honor home school courses.
Byron Brown´s last [type] ..English Language and Literature GCE A Level Level 3 Course Details
March 4th, 2011 at 7:44 am
Kris says:
On what criteria would you “weigh” a home school class as Honors? How do you decide if it’s “college” or AP level?
In my experience, altho’ I did not weigh, my children did honors history and english. They were far better prepared than their public school counterparts once they got to (private) college, and tested out of several Freshman level courses. They also told me that, contrary to what they had heard about college being MUCH harder than high school, they had no problem! Both made Dean’s list, one every single semester so far!
March 4th, 2011 at 8:49 am
Lee says:
If you decided to weight your classes, then any class that was honors level or AP or pass a CLEP then you might either grade it on a 1-5 scale or perhaps give it 2 credits per class instead of 1 credit per class. It’s quite complicated, and that’s why I don’t usually recommend it. It’s just not worth the effort!
Blessings,
Lee
March 4th, 2011 at 1:24 pm
Ellen says:
I plan on doing an honors math course next year with my daughters and intend on just assigning the typical 4.0/1 credit. As you stated, it’s much easier and it seems like the colleges do as they want anyway. I will follow your suggestion to make a special note in their transcripts about the course being college-level, etc. Thanks for your input on this subject.
March 5th, 2011 at 12:59 pm